


Why Ashelin didn't have Children

by bellicosebabe



Category: Jak and Daxter
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:56:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27293053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellicosebabe/pseuds/bellicosebabe
Summary: Ashelin answers a question.
Relationships: Ashelin Praxis/Torn, Keira Hagai/Jak
Kudos: 7
Collections: Lexi and Beth





	Why Ashelin didn't have Children

Ashelin looked at her watch as she walked briskly through the city. For once, she had a decent break in between meetings. But then, she remembered with a start something else she had to do. 

Some of the city’s vehicles had been fritzy lately. They were all so old that Ashelin was seriously considering scrapping them at this point. But then, with a sigh, she remembered why she couldn’t do that.

While the city was doing a lot better these days, it wasn’t like they had a wealth of extra money. If they could scrape by with what they already had, they should at least give it a try. 

And she knew just the person to talk to. 

She ran ahead, and boarded the next train that was heading in toward the racetrack. This was a job for Keira. 

Soon enough, she was walking through the huge, open doors of the track. It was one of the only things in the city that made a consistent profit, and it had recently been redone in a new style. Now, it looked nothing like it had during her father’s rule, which was just how she liked it. 

Briskly walking through the hallways, Ashelin followed the sounds of revving power tools and scraping metal. She could already smell the gasoline in the air. Man, did that bring back memories. 

Getting to the huge, open doorway of the garage, she rapped her knuckles against the side of it. 

“Knock knock,” she said, knowing that she had to speak up over the sound of the power tools. 

Keira was welding something, with a metal visor pulled low over her face. Still, her blue-green hair and outfit were distinct. Keira had retired her old, midriff-bearing shirt when she was pregnant with Lexi, and always joked about how it wasn’t coming back, not now that she was a mother. Instead, she was now wearing a white tank-top under baggy purple overalls that we unbuttoned on one side, with her usual brown boots that she wore while she was working. Sitting on the floor of the garage playing was Lexi. She was about three now, with short green hair done up in pigtails. She was wearing a purple dress over a white shirt. Ashelin briefly wondered if Keira dressed them to match on purpose. Despite the chaos and sound surrounding her, she seemed to be completely lost in her own little world, stacking her blocks. 

At the sound of Ashelin’s voice, Keira shut off the blast of fire coming out of the welder, and pushed up her mask. 

“Ashelin! How are ya?” she asked, setting aside her tools. Lexi looked up in surprise, and grinned. 

Keira stood, dusted herself off, and gestured for Ashelin to come in. Ashelin walked in, remembered a time when things with Keira had been...tense. She was happy now that they could talk professionally. Even though they didn’t have many interests in common, there was a lot of professional respect there. Keira had certainly proved herself to be handy with a wrench, and things were better now that they were friends. 

“I’m good,” Ashelin said. “Busy, as always.” 

Keria nodded and laughed. “Same here. You wouldn’t believe the rush before the racing season,” she said. She tilted her head. “Do you need something?” She picked up a rag from a small table and wiped her hands on it. 

“Yeah, kind of. I just thought that I’d pop in to ask you a mechanical question,” Ashelin said, waving and briefly smiling at Lexi, who had toddled over to her. 

Keira smiled widely. This was always her favorite topic of discussion. “Shoot!” she said, putting one hand on her hip with the other one hanging. 

Ashelin crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, it’s the X-Nav Zoomers,” she said. 

Keira hissed between her teeth. “The really old ones? They haven’t been decommissioned?” she asked, concerned. 

Ashelin ran a hand through her hair. “That’s the thing. They probably should have been replaced already. But the city just doesn’t have the funds right now for a project like that. If I could get them to work for another few months, at least, then I could probably convince the council to add it to next year’s budget.” 

Keira hummed, eyebrows knitted. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do. Do you have the schematics?” she asked. 

Ashelin pulled out a retractable screen from her pocket and pulled it out to its full size. With a few expert sqipes, she got to the page she was looking for. Keira moved to her side, and looked at the design. She started pointing to different parts of the schematics, talking about things she could try to extend the old things’ lifespans. 

While they talked, Lexi stared up at them. She had most of one fist jammed in her mouth, thinking. Most of the time, she tended to stay quiet. But she had something she was wondering about.  
Before Ashelin had walked in, Lexi had been playing with toys on the floor of the garage, like she often did. While Jak was off defending the city, this was normally where Lexi could be found. Despite the loud sounds of the workshop around her, she could sit there focused on her toys for hours. Though, Keira had been known to put a little pair of purple fuzzy earmuffs on her when she was using especially loud tools. 

Now, though, she had been standing at the feet of her mother and aunt as they’d been working. As they were wrapping up their work, and Keira was agreeing to come in herself to look at the vehicles, Lexi decided to break her silence. 

She took her fist out of her mouth and said, “Aunt Ashelin, why don’t you and Uncle Torn have any babies?” 

Keira gasped, looking horrified. “Lexi! We don’t ask questions like that,” she turned to Ashelin, looking upset. “I’m so sorry, Ashelin! She’s going through a phase where she’s constantly asking questions. I’m still teaching her what is and isn't appropriate to say.” 

But Ashelin waved her off, and said it was fine. It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to hearing the question. How many times had it come up in an interview? Normally, it happened when people got a little too nosey for their own good. Typically, Ashelin would give them some kind of non-answer or level them with a glare, depending on her mood. But she couldn’t be upset at Lexi for asking. She was just a little girl, curious about the world. She was probably just wondering this kind of thing, seeing all her parents’ friends with babies. Except for her and Torn. 

She knelt down in front of Lexi. While she didn’t have children of her own, she always tried to treat children with a certain degree of respect. She remembered what it felt like to not be listened to when she was a child, and she didn’t want to do the same to anyone else. 

Then, she said, “I do have a baby, in a way. I run the city. I protect it, make sure it’s happy, and watch it grow and change. It’s my baby. Do you understand?” 

Lexi thought for a second, her tiny face scrunching up under her green pigtails. Then, she said, “That’s a big baby.” 

Ashelin laughed quietly. “You’re telling me.” 

Keira, relieved, let out a breath. She was glad Ashelin had taken the question so well. Then, Ashelin planted her hands on her knees and stood, moving to go. 

“Anyway, I should probably get going. I have a meeting with some contractors for the new building project going up on the westside.” 

“Alright,” said Keira. “And I’ll look over these plans. I’m sure that I could make some changes to increase the speed and fuel efficiency.” 

Ashelin nodded. “I appreciate it. I swear, it’d be easier if you just took a job with the city.” 

Keira shook her head, smiling. “Ah, Ashelin, you know I can’t. I'm needed here, at the racetrack. Besides, I don’t think you guys could afford me,” she said, raising one eyebrow jokingly.

Ashelin laughed again, louder. “You’re probably right,” she said. Then, she waved goodbye as she walked out. “Bye, Keira. Bye, Lexi.” 

“Bye, auntie!” said Lexi. She ran forward on her short legs, and grabbed one of Ash’s legs in a hug. Ashelin’s smile softened, and she picked up Lexi, hugging her back. 

“Bye, kiddo,” she said, musing that the city wasn’t the only baby she loved. 

The next weekend, the whole gang had a dinner party at Jak and Keira’s place. Everyone was eating, sitting around a long table set out in the dining room. Lexi had sat silently staring at Torn for a few minutes as he ate. Then, all at once, she stood on her chair, her little arms propped on the table in front of her. 

And she shouted to him, “Is the city your baby, too, Uncle Torn?” 

Torn spit out his drink in surprise. Jak looked to Keira and Ashelin, seeking context. But Keira was hunched over the table, shoulders shaking with silent laughter, and all Ashelin gave him was a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> You guys get to meet little Lexi! I like to think that she's quiet like her dad until she feels like she has something important to say. Then everybody better watch out. I also based her toddler hair being green on The Kid from Jak II. I like to think that her hair will lighten as time goes on. (So, we might have another blondie in the house lol.) 
> 
> But anyway. When I was working on the world-building for Lexi and Beth, I seriously considered if Ash and Torn would have children. I could imagine what their children would be like. But to me, personally, I just didn't really see them taking that route. And more and more, I thought that Ash would want to focus on her job and being a great auntie. So, here's this story. 
> 
> Of course, if anyone disagrees, that's totally fine. This is just my interpretation for this particular story, and a cute interaction between Lexi and Ashelin that arose from it. I hope that I don't offend anyone who is choosing to be childless. It's not what I would personally want, but I respect it, and I hope that this story shows that.


End file.
